OFFSTAGE: The Surgeon Behind Dierks Bentley’s Dog Rescue

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that’s happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of
the spotlight.)

Let’s all give a big country round of applause for orthopedic surgeon Dr. Cameron Atkinson and
his wife Anna Belle. Mostly for Anna Belle. Because she was the one who found Dierks
Bentley‘s dog Jake, who had gone missing on Sunday night (Jan. 13). And on Monday, after
she returned Jake to Bentley, her husband took to Twitter to say to Bentley, “Glad my wife found your dog! And happy to
find out someone loves him so much!” Bentley replied, “You and me both! thank you so much.” (Atkinson’s Twitter bio describes
him as a “budding hand surgeon. Proud Princeton man.”) And Bentley posted a photo saying his mixed-breed, mostly spitz, shotgun
rider was back. The terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad drama started when Bentley put a plea for help on his social media
pages. “Jake has been missing for 5 hours now. jumped a fence during the thunderstorms. praying someone found him. a cold
wet white dog. red collar,” wrote Bentley on Sunday night. Then, “Still looking. .. we really appreciate all the support.
overwhelmed by it. thank you.” It meant a lot to Bentley that his industry friends — including the head of his record label
— were out on the streets looking for his dog. Then, thankfully, he wrote, “One of the happiest days of my life. grown men
don’t cry … yeah right. thank you to everyone on facebook and twitter that spread the word.”